Ryan Reynolds Will Play ‘Detective Pikachu’ Because Someone Has to Do It

Ryan Reynolds is adding another quirky note to the delightfully bizarre timeline of his career, which is already punctuated with a strange collection of notable characters like Van Wilder, Green Lantern, and Deadpool — the latter of which has helped us forget all about the first two (until now, I am so sorry). The actor is trading in his mercenary spandex and seemingly infinite mental Rolodex of profanity for a Pokeball and some decidedly family-friendly language in Detective Pikachu.

…Which is totally a real movie title, I swear. THRreports that Reynolds has joined the cast of Detective Pikachu, the upcoming live-action Pokemon movie. The film will follow the exploits of the titular character, who’s a little different from the other members of the Pikachu species in that he’s — wait for it — a detective who likes to find things and solve mysteries and stuff. He probably also has one of those magnifying glasses and an old-timey Sherlock Holmes hat, right?

You may assume, from Reynolds’ casting and the fact that this is a live-action movie about a Pokemon character, that the actor is playing a human person. But Ryan Reynolds laughs in the face of such logical assumptions. He is an actor, after all. Of course he will be playing the titular role of Detective Pikachu. “How?” you may ask? I don’t know, they’ll fix it in post. (No, really — it’ll be motion-capture, it’s fine, this is fine.)

Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is directing Detective Pikachu, which also recently cast Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies). Smith plays a teen who enlists the help of Pikachu to find his kidnapped father. Newton will play a “sassy” journalist who helps them out.

Detective Pikachu will begin filming in London in January and does not yet have a release date. In the meantime, you can see Reynolds in Deadpool 2 on June 1, 2018.